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RP: Taking It Back [Phase I] Assembling the Team

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Lamb

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It was raining again on the afternoon that the first meeting was to take place. Lucas Jackson had taken a shuttle in from Roger Wilco to meet up with Alex Foster at a Neppy's on the Lower East Side of Funky City. The sidewalks in front of the battered fast-food joint were slick with the grease of the city, and the towering sky-rises above left the normally humongous ID-SOL dwarfed in their shadow. He took a moment to survey the surroundings, checking his communicator again for the message that brought him here.

Code: 
Lucas,

I'm going to get a bunch of people together to piss off some squids for a living over the next few months. I've got an interesting corporate connection to some weapons, and Lyle Clemente is overseeing the whole outfit. Yours truly will be leading the team on Gameday. If you're interested in a little fun, show up at the Neppy's halfway up the block from the 492nd st. and 1123rd ave. corner. You can't miss it, it's the only place on the block with a sign out front. I'll be waiting with a sign that says, "Tickets to the Big Game, 20 DA"

Yours Truly,
Lexi

PS: DONT FORGET I SAVED YOUR ASS DURING THE WAR. [i]YOU. OWE. ME.[/i]

The towering mercenary let out a sigh and returned his communicator to its pocket before entering the store. His senses were immediately assaulted by the smell of whiskey and grease. A rather large patron was enjoying a sandwich comprised of two steaks for bread, with catsup and mayonaise oozing off of slices of bacon jutting out from between them. Lucas grunted in disgust and peered around, searching for the sign from the note. He uttered a tone of relief when he finally spotted it.

It was a white posterboard set up on a wooden dowel, and it had "Tikits to da Gaym, 20 DAS" scrawled hastily on it in permanent marker. Sitting behind it, was a man in a business suit and sunglasses with a wide grin plastered on his face. Lucas approached him and sat across from him.

"Alex? You look a lot different? When'd you get so thin?" Lucas prodded. He was still unsure if he was even at the right table.

"No, no, no-no-nooooo, Mister Man." The suited man replied, "I ain't yo Freddy-boy, Mister Man. Are you blinds 'er somethin'? Can't you see I am a puh-reeeetty Nekovalkeeria? I am a Kestoo-berry Princess! My name is Hanako! Have you met my boyfriend, Luca Pavone? We're gettin' murrayed. And we's gonna have Robert Davis as our first child."

"What in the hell?" Lucas looked the man up and down. "Is Alex starting up a group of lunatics to fight the squids?", He thought to himself, "I hope the others don't show up to be a shit-ton of crazy, too. And I hope Alex isn't serious about fightin' off squids with this guy hanging around"

The suited man kept smiling and continued his rant, "By the way-- you can thank me for that fancy new Origin Ess-EE-PEE two! I'm the one that redesigned the whole thing!"

At this, Lucas produced a flask of whiskey from his breast pocket and took the first of what he predicted to be many swigs.

"I bet you did, buddy. I bet you did."
 

That was message that arrived on Chrysanthe's comm-link. She looked at it and frowned. Who the bloody hell is Alex? She thought. But she still thought about it. NMX ruined her plans and shaked her life a lot. She hated them a lot and wished for all of them silly bugger to die. This was the opportunity. She herself couldn't do much, but with other in organized group... well that would be something else.

THat is why she stood up and went on the way. All what she owned she had on herself. NMX happened to burn down building where she lived. She was lucky enough to get into underground and survive any shelling and then get away from dangerzone. Otherwise she would be dead or living incubator by now. This was the opportunity to get back on them. They attacked Nepleslia and it should be Nepleslians to show them that it was not such a good idea. And Chrys was a nepleslian. At least in mind.

With that she made her way to the bar stated in message. It was not hard to spot the right table. RIgh now it was full of very large ID-SOL and one other guy. ID-SOLL will be probably that Alex guy. CHrys walked to them towering abover them. Her coat looked a little messy and she had few bruises on her hands and face. Surviving invasion wasn't easy after all.

"Afternoon gentlemen," she said and threw 25 DA chit on the table. "Keep the change," she said and sat to the table with them.
 
The rain was truly a downpour in North Side F.C. The streets had small flooding, the sewer system being overloaded. Few people were out and about, either by vehicle or foot. Granted, that was norm these days, but even fewer than that were out.
~Still~ was the idle thought of Rennik Cage, standing underneath the concrete awning of a shoddy little building deep in the ally-ways of the city ~it could be explosive rain~. That little thought cheered him up a bit, and he continued to wait in front of the door to the building.
It was a heavy metallic door, with a port higher up for whoever resided within to slide open and look outside, which it happened to do just now. Rennik turned at the sound of the sliding port, and saw a familiar set of eyes looking out at him.
"Hello Nick" Rennik said quietly, so that only the doorman (apparently named Nick) could hear.
"J'ai le nouveau travail pour toi" Nick replied, speaking strictly business as always.
"Combien?" Rennik asked, the only question he ever asked Nick.
"Ce n'est pas jusqu'à moi" Nick said, which caused Rennik to look. Nick always had a payment amount in mind.
Suddenly, the port closed, and the sounds of unlocking could be heard from inside. The heavy metal door creeped open just a little bit, and a small pad was tossed out with the door closing quickly behind. Rennik knew what this meant, and he picked up the pad and went on his way.
He ran down a side ally and ducked under the door-frame of a nearby building. He looked down at the message on the datapad:
-----------------------------------------------------
Nick,

I know you've got your greedy little hands in everything in the city. Hell, everyone knows that. That's why I know that you know about a little effort being made to take back our city from the Squids. Send your best to Neppy's, at the 492nd st. and 1123rd ave. corner. It's the only place with a sign out front. I'll have a sign that says "Tickets to the Big Game, 20 DA"

-Alex
P.S. - If your guy is good, we'll call it even
--------------------------------------------------------

Rennik sighed; 492nd and 1123rd were all the way on the Lower East Side. He grudgingly made his way to the Metro, hoping that at least one of the transports were still in operation...
*********************

It had taken nearly an hour for a transport to the Lower East Side to become available, but eventually Rennik did get there. The rain wasn't even half as bad over here, though the ground was certainly much greasier.
Neppy's was only too easy to find, which made Rennik uneasy. He didn't believe in easy, that things that happened easily must have some other purpose. Never the less, he walked inside and sure enough, there was a sign offering tickets to the big game, with 3 people already seated there, two men and a woman. At the moment, they didn't seem to be talking about anything, so he quietly took a seat at the table.
 
Lucas nodded to the tall woman laying down her money. He noticed the man in the sunglasses take her money and stuff it into his pocket, producing a napkin with 'TIKIT' written on it in the same messed up writing as the sign on the table. He sighed.

Just as he was about to give her 25 DA of his own to make up for it, another man entered the joint, this one keeping to himself. He did sit at the designated table though. It was starting to look like Alex was gathering an army of crazy people after all. Lucas looked over at the woman, her bruised features softening his heart. He stuck out his hand to shake.

"Lucas Jackson." He said, introducing himself and then gesturing to the man he'd met already, "And this other guy in the suit and glasses here says his name is Hanako. But then again..."

"I'm don't need spaceships to fly around in space. I just use my mysterious Ketsoo-berry powers to teleport wherever I want too. I can make my arms into swords, too." The well-dressed lunatic rambled in response to his introduction. He still wore that wide grin.

Lucas sighed again and continued, "You're probably here for Alex, aren't you? I don't know where he is. But he never misses an engagement, so I'm sure he'll turn up soon. What's you name, Lady?"

He turned to the quiet guy who'd just sat down, "You too, pal. Make with the introductions. Prove that you're not as crazy as this Princess guy right here, eh?"
 
Chrys looked at ID-SOL that started talking. So that Alex-guy is not here yet. "My name is Chrysanthe Chronis." said in response. "Just Call me Chrys if we are supposed to work together. From what you just said I gather that you know this Alex-person. I don'T know where he digged my number but I hope I will learn to get him know a lot better. If we are supposed to sting some squids together that is."

She then looked over bar and showed raised finger to barkeep to order a beer. She was thirsty after the long way. Her coat luckily protected her enough from the rain. "And I also hope this princess from Fairy-land behinf seven candy montaunis and seven honey springs won't be in way." She added and pointed to man in Bussiness suit.
 
Rennik ignored Lucas for the moment, instead reaching down to his bag** and opening it. He then took off his long-sleeved shirt, setting it down onto the back of his chair, then reaching into his bag and pulled out a green one (it looked considerably dryer), which he put on, as well as pulling out a very lightly made, tan-brown jacket.
"Rennik" he replied at last, grabing his previous shirt and starting to fold it.
"Professional Errand boy" he added, looking up with a slight open-mouthed grin.

**Forgot to mention he carried his bag in
 
Rain and filth, why'd it go so well together? Mixing and reeking as it collected at all points low in the street. His boots were almost sucked into them as he walked along toward his destination, why Lang was here was a matter of personal importance.

He'd gotten a call a few weeks ago from an old contact in Funky City, the situation had gotten far more dark since the ex-Red's departure back in YE 30. A single name had caught his undivided attention, Lucas Jackson. Now he once again found himself in the streets of his former homeland heading toward one of many 'hole in the wall' establishments, the Neppy. A few minutes later he found himself standing in it's threshold looking in on the dim lit smoky interior. walking up to the small group Lang dropped his chit on the table, the distinct Paragon logo standing out on it's surface and spoke, "Good evening gentleman and women".
 
"Well, that's very good then-- doesn't sound crazy at all, and that's the wa- Lang?" Lucas noted his former friend and combatant entering the establishment and snatched up the Paragon chip before 'Hanako' could get to it.

"You old salt mine!" he chided before introducing him to the other two, "This is Lang, an' he an' me used to crush skulls together in the last Civil War. You got my message then, Lang?"
 
CHrys looked up and man standing next to the table now. She looked examined him carefully with her eyes. He was soldier that was for sure. And from what Lucas said he was veteran too. So she can expect him to be bitchy and realy wise-ass to non-soldiers like her. Well she will show him that she can kicki some ass too. Or tentacles in this particalar case.

Even with that in mind she extended her hand for a shake and said. "I am Chrys, nice to meet you." Even though it was not that nice in her mind. Not just yet.
 
Dimitri arrived without much fanfare. Being an ex-criminal in this planet, and having been born in it and whatever, he knew a lot of people in Funky Town. He had connections. A friend of a friend of a friend is an acquaintance, and that was enough to get Dimitri awarded some attention by someone that knew what Alex Foster was up to.


He had seen the sign talking about the 'Big Game' from outside. It was hard to believe that no one found this suspicious. Shrugging, the bounty hunter made his way to the meeting place proper, and stayed quiet. He had his helmet tucked under his left harm, hinting that he had gotten there on hovercycle. The long impermeable jacket he wore was somewhat wet, but he had shaken off most of the water before going into Neppy's.

He wasn't too afraid of getting recognized. Most of the Black Syndicate had moved to Kennewes, and the few others that remained in Nepleslia weren't around this side of Funky Town. His wearing a pair of jeans and a black shirt also made him less inconspicuous than if he were wearing his usual Syndicate suit. Walking down the aisles of tables, he managed to reach the table where the guy was holding the sign. He leaned against an empty table, looking at them from there, arms crossed over his chest.
 
Alexis was soggy and dripping when she finally passed through the portal into Neppy's, and even though her helmet had protected her hair, it was always less than pleasant riding an airbike in the rain, and it was especially unpleasant riding it in Funky City's rain. It was like the whole of the city's sorry state was contained in billions of little drops of slightly acidic water, and it was determined to sully everything that passed through it. Alexis had hidden her bike in a covvy nearby, out of the reach of the filth, but had then been forced to walk that last and final stretch. It was better than riding full-tilt in it, but not by very much.

Alexis removed her helmet, shook her silver-blonde hair free, unzipped her jacket so that she could breathe freely again, and took in a deep breath. Then she slid a gloved hand over the long gun case, sweeping the water off of the faux leather surface. She could have been carrying a guitar, or some instrument, but the size of the case and the Styrling logo worked into the side gave it away.

The place stunk of strong alcohol and greasy food, but at least the lighting seemed brighter than most bars in FC. Her customer was sitting in one of the back corners partially obscured by a rather large man eating an unconventionally proportioned burger, even for Nep standards. He waved to her as she came in, and then watched her saunter over.

Alexis placed the case on the table in front of the customer, and slid it towards him.

"Styrling Longbolt, custom stock, all requested modifications included. I threw in some bullets, too, and they're like... better, I guess, than the regular high-explosive rounds you are used to. They don't like, explode. I mean, like, they do when they're supposed to, not when they are not supposed to." Somewhat awkwardly, she ended, "I hand loaded them, myself."

Then, digging inside one of her jacket pockets, she produced the datapad that he had left on her counter, and tossed it onto the top of the case.

"And, you forgot this."

The man put down his cup of coffee, one hand casually intercepting the sliding datapad by reflex. He slipped it into his jacket next to a twin if it. He obviously brought in bulk.

"Good evening to you to." he said pleasantly, head bowing. He brought the case a little closer and opened it. "Beautiful." he judged, closing it again and resting his hands easily on top of it. "No problems, I trust?"

"Nah," Ally said with a smile, tapping the top of the case with the fingernail of her index, "This little thing will shoot like... a dream. Yea. But, like, I am surprised you aren't more surprised. This is not the address you gave me."

The man brought his cup back to his lips slowly "Well, lets just say I left something on that pad that made me guess you'd hold the order so you could come here." he sipped before speaking again, "Of course, it was only until I was outside that I remembered that that particular piece of information was on it." He gesutered towards the opposite seat, "Coffee?"

Sliding into the seat across from him, Alexis fished inside her jacket pocket for her cigarettes, and was pleased to find them dry. She tapped one out, examining the table a few rows down, where the group of very muscular males, and a rather thug-like girl, were sitting beneath the "Tikits" sign. "Yea, I guess. So are you going to, like, talk to them?"

Flick. The lighter sparked to life. The man gestured to the staff. "Two more." he mouthed, holding up two fingers before turning back to her. "I was worried it might be a setup. Thought I'd watch over for a while before moving in." He brought out one of the two datapads in his jacket and flipped it towards her. It showed a view of the front door from the other side of the road. The young gunsmith murred her approval, humming musically.

"They look a little mafia."

"Digital Camo-man there in is a mercenary, if my experience from Delsauria proves true. He hasn't stopped staring at them since he came in." The man muttered, finishing off the last of his coffee "The other ones are rogue elements. Although mister suit seems to fancy himself a princess."

Alexis blew a stream of blue smoke at the table. It fell rediculously short of its target, dispersing a few feet away from her lips. A staff member brought over their drinks, obviously very used to the mans order.

"Kinda sounds a little half-cooked," Alexis stated, blue eyes wide as she examined them, "Like they aren't even serious."

"There was no mention of money in the recruitment note, what did you expect?" the man muttered, blowing on his coffee through his thick moustache. "I dare say, this lot are all the ones dumb enough to work for a cause. And don't stare directly, it's amateurish."

Alexis glanced back to the man across the table, offering a sheepish, embarassed smile.

"Am I really that obvious?"
 
"Not too obvious." Came the unwarranted reply from the server. He was examining her through a cybernetic eye with a bored stare. A soft clicking noise emenated from his eye as electric shutters snapped a picture of Alexis for later reference. He set two drinks on the table before continuing, "Except maybe to me. But I've been watching you, as you're sitting with him."

A thin finger raised to meet with Archival before the server turned to him and went on. "Make up your mind, Archival. It's exactly what it looks like. Indescision annoys me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go quit my job. Meet me over at that table when you've finished your drinks."

With that, the server tossed his hat to one side and removed his apron as he plodded through the door into the kitchen. Briefly, raised voices could be heard. Then a loud crack silenced them. Moments later, the now former server emerged from the same door wearing a kahki trenchcoat over a light grey button down shirt and olive colored cargo pants. Clutched in his hand was a white paper bag full of Neppy's food. With it, he made his way towards the crowded table with the sign, tapping Dimitri on the shoulder as he passed with a simple, "We're about to start, Dimitri."

As he reached the table, he tossed the bag of food to the suited man-princess and slid into a seat.

"Thank you for making the sign and holding my spot, Jake." he said.

"Franks for the memories, Freddie-boy!" The well-dressed lunatic replied. "And franks for the burgra's, too! Yamatai is in your debit. Now if you'll excuse me, I gots royal biddiness to attend to. Hanako Kestu-berry, AWAY!" At that, he stood, stretched his arms, jumped onto the table, and dashed out of the restraunt, all while making a childish 'whoosh' noise with every action. The former server lit a cigarette and leant back in his chair, eyeing everyone around him speculatively.

"I'm Alex Foster." He introduced himself, "Some of you already know me. Some of you just want to know why I sent you a message out of nowhere and how I got your name and number."

He raised his voice and turned back to look at Dimitri, Archival, and Alexis. "...and some of you are just trying to watch without playing along." He turned back. "Before we leave to go to the real meeting, are there any questions?"

Lucas raised his hand. Alex pointed. The ID-Sol capped his whiskey and asked with a thumb extended towards the door, "What the fuck was wrong with that guy in the suit?"
 
Chrys looked at older looking guy that this Alex-person looked at. He was there when she came in. Well he was probably only one clever enough to waith what comes up. She then looked at Alex. "I got question number two. And it is only important question to me really." She said and took breat and little pause before contunuing. "So are we goin to kill those squid wankers or what?"
 
The man now named as Archival raised his eyebrow to his companion sipped his coffee before putting it down, he got up and offered her a hand as though escorting her out of a vehicle. “The game being up, wot?” he said, sounding mildly embarrassed bit in good graces.

He then grabbed his new gun case, picked up his coffee with the other and marched towards the other table. He put his coffee down and claimed a spot, free hand casually brushing his white, walrusy moustache absent-mindedly. “Archival De Florres, hunter second, gentleman first. At you gents service,” he took a slightly better look at Chrys and corrected himself “and lady, of course.”
 
Alexis didn't take the man's hand, but she did stand up, take her coffee, and follow along behind him, feeling incredibly dumb. Ally had noticed the waiter's cybernetic eye, now that she had taken a good look at him, and was paying attention, and that was something Ally couldn't help but feel skittish about. Up to this point, she had maintained a relatively low profile in FC, but all it would take for her little shop to become the underworld's first stop for easy money was one of her pictures to get out, with the Styrling name on it. She could already picture it. No, there wouldn't ever be another quiet moment, and this Alex guy seemed to talk like the sort of man who would be that mean, if given the chance and a reason.

Standing behind and off to the side of Archival de Florres, Ally decided that the rest of them looked more or less like her typical customers. Unsmiling, but clean. A little bit rough around the edges, with a couple of five-o-clock shadows, probably military since nearly everyone was military eventually. Definately Nepleslian, except for the tall one - the tallest, and probably one of the most boyish women Ally had ever seen, with a facial structure that Alexis felt was a little... off, but she couldn't place exactly why. Ally sat beside Archival, licked her lips to wet them so that the coffee wouldn't burn her so bad, and took a sip of it, not looking at anyone in particular.

"I'm Alexis," she stated, after Archival had finished, "Most people call me Ally, so please just call me that, since like, your name is 'Alex' and so nobody gets confused. Did you make this coffee?" She smiled without tension. "It's kind of good."
 
Taking one of the seats at the table Lang eyed his comrade, "That I did, is it true what I've been hearing about the squids taking over the area?" he asked pulling his Styrling pistol into view and setting it on the table.
 
"Yes, we will be killing squids, and try not to be so loud about it." Alex replied, both for Lang and Chrys. He cast a quick sideways glance at the overweight customer enjoying his steak-on-steak sandwich. "Anyone could be listening for anyone else's sake."

"As for you." He went on, turning a slender finger towards Alexis, "I'm not so much sure you should be along, just yet. You weren't on my list of intended recruits. I selected these people carefully after weeks of observation. I watched unnoticed from roof-tops and fire escapes and in one particularly unpleasant case, from an underground passage filled with rats. And I didn't happen to watch you during that time. I must have missed Archival picking you up. Why should I take you on in this endeavor?"

He looked at her expectantly for just a moment before continuing to ramble, "And yes, as a matter of fact I did make the coffee. The equipment here is sub-par, but there are wonders to be acheived with a properly cleaned percolator. The coffee I make it home is far superior to 'kinda good'."
 
With the same pleasant, unhurried smile, Alexis fished inside her fur-lined, still-soggy jacket and produced a business card, which was surprisingly dry. She sat it on the table, and flicked it across towards Alex with a nail. In the back of her mind, she hoped he found it as cool as she was trying to make it look.

Alexis Arms, 42nd St. FC 3rd Dist. 50384-230102.

"I sell small arms. Like, the guns you see in magazines, but think you can never have because nobody sells them, or because they are like, military only or whatever."

Ally cradled the cup in her hands, and took another sip.

"I also complimented your coffee. That's got to be worth something, right?"
 
There was a beat in the diner. The sound of sloppy drippings from the steak-on-steak could be heard from across the room, backdropped by the rain steadily clashing on the windowpanes. Alexis took another sip of her coffee, and cleared her throat. Somewhere, someone coughed.

Chrys looked at her possible future employer and frowned a little. But she then returned to a smile. A smile that was not showing even an ounce of happiness. "So you stalked us eh? Good for you I didn't notice first. Not that it must have been hard stalking me there outside. What are you anyway? Some IPG agent?" She whispered with cold voice.

"Stalking us eh?" Lang smirked slightly as he began unscrewing his pistol's suppressor. "Hows the ass wound then?" he asked.

Archie simply buried his face in his mug at the mention of underground passageways.

"The ass wound is fine, as I was wearing a little armor at the time. The bruise isn't very large." Alex provided, "And no, I'm not an IPG agent, although I have been in contact with them. They've promised me capitol for my venture."

Straigtening up in his seat slightly Lang gestured to Lucas, "Why don't you tell him what we did to spooks back in the day, Lucas?" a slight edge to his voice beginning to grow. Lucas lifted the hand of 'just wait for it' to Lang in response.

"Let's not." Chrys reacted to Lang. "We are not here for stories and adventures. I would be glad if you would get to the main point, mistah Stalker."

"Very well, then." Alex said, putting his own HHG on the table across from Lang's Styrling. He sampled his cigarette with a slow gaze over the group, turning slightly in his chair to gather Dimitri into his stare as well. "I've been watching a lot of people lately, and the reason why is that I happen to have been approached by three very powerful men with a better job opportunity than a simple serving job at Neppy's. They want me to retake the city. They've given me license to gather 'a few good poster-children for massacre' and kept me in their regards for doing so. I happen to be a very methodical man, so this process is very delicate for me... A moment."

The cyclopean man looked down to his communicator for some sort of a message after recieving the customary beep to signal an incoming communication.

Chrys meanwhile looked without turning her head towards the lardass eating his sandwich. Trying to check if he is trying to listen on them or not. Her fists wete itching and she was looking for a little fight. Not that it would be hard to beat up that fatty.

"Please don't look at people like that." Alex's cybernetic eye was still plastered firmly on the group as he looked down on his communicator. "It makes them think you're going to hit them."

"Unprofessional, wot." said Archie absently, looking down into his jacket at one of his own datapads. Idly checking the front entrance out of habit. A man was standing towards the wall, a trickle of liquid sprinkling on the ground in front of him. Archival sniffed and one hand tidied his moustache on its own accord. "Filthy bugger." he muttered into into his chest at the image. "At least go around the corner where it's darker."

"If he is listening on us he would deserve it." Chry replied and then turned her eyes to Alex. "If you stalked me for few days, you must know that I like exchanging some opinions with my fists instead of my voice." She said and returned to looking towards the fatty.

"Most definitely. It makes you a prime choice for combat against the shock troops. They don't melee very well." Alex turned up from his communicator and glanced over to Lang, "And your corporate connections will come in handy once we've re-established comms." Then to Archie, "You're an excellent hunter and tracker. And we can't kill an enemy we can't find." Then he continued to Dimitri in his head, " And you've got the combat experience I need to do this efficiently."

Leaning back Lang couldn't help but smile, "I hope your friends realize that my connections don't come cheap, though for this cause you may land a discount... if we survive that is."

Lucas took the initiative to address Lang, "The IPG is giving us a big sack of money, so they say. Alex can find money if you need it, though. He's got ways of doing things. He ain't just some spook, buddy, he's a soldier too. I served under him both in the force and on the streets. He has no trouble cripplin' head."

Ally, having by this time finished most of her coffee, settled her cheek on one of her hands and politely listened to everyone making their points and stating their opinions and being themselves. After listening for so long, though, she finally found her chance; taking advantage of the lull, she asked, "So, I take it this means I'm in, right? I mean, I haven't been thrown out on the street in the rain, so like, I'm thinking that's positive. Yea?"

Alex returned his gaze to Ally, his cybernetic eye clicking a few more photographs in the process. He cocked an eyebrow to her before he provided his condition. "Get me a magazine gun and disassemble and reassemble it faster than I can, and you're in. We'll need a gun-hoarder of sorts."

"That all?" Alexis picked her head up off her hand and looked around at the weapons that were already on the table. Lang reached behind himself pulling a Styrling STAR off his shoulder, setting it on the table he slid it toward the seated young women, who smiled immediately, like a gambler with a full house and a lot of money. Picking it up, Ally brightened, brushing her thumb over the magazine release. "Ready?"

Alex stuck his hang out towards Lang's pistol, in a request for permission to dismantle. "If you don't mind colonel?"

"Go ahead, just be sure to have it in one piece when I need it" responded Lang.

"Let's make this fair," Chrys said and took out her own Styrling Silver special. It was same gun Lang had. She slid it across the table to Alexis. "Do your job Lass and kick this Stalkers buttocks." She then said.

"This isn't a contest of superiority." Alex stated with a firm sigh, "If her claims are true, then she will win, hands down. I go into this with the assumption that she will win. Lang; your pistol will be in mint condition-- I never make a mistake with assembly."

"Heh," Chrys chuckled. "Don't get you tighty-whiteys in a knot. You just don't like when someone talks about your buttocks." She then said. Her mood improved with this contest.

"If you already know I'm going to win," Ally offered, "Why don't we like, save it all? I don't really want to embarrass you in front of everybody."

"As sore as it is, I believe I'm entitled to that." Alex smarmed back to Chrys, reaching for the pistol. He placed the weapon in front of everyone and ran his eye over its length. "There's nothing embareassing about losing to you. I merely propose this as a test of your abilities, impromptu though it may be. I have no standard to hold you against but my own. And so, with that being said... Go."

A flurry of sounds filled the table as both challengers preformed their tasks. Alex dropped the magazine and cleared the chamber quickly, locking the forward safety catch in the same motion. The two guns were built slightly differently; Ally did the same, locking the safety and letting the magazine clatter on the table, not even bothering where it fell - so long as it was on the table, that was fine for her. A bullet left the chamber, pinged off somewhere, and Ally glanced at the gun's owner briefly before continuing on. The Styrling STAR had a hard, solid case which made the bolt carrier and springs difficult to get to, but it separated quickly under her attention.

By this point, Alex had removed the pin above the handle on his own gun and was pulling the slide from the frame. His hand moved with precision and efficiency as he emptied the spring and began struggling with the feeding mechanism. His brow furrowed in the critical second as his fingernail failed to take purchase on the feeding ramp.

The blowback mechanism of the STAR rifle took its place among the disassembled parts. The firing chamber and bolt mechanism and spring were about to join it; Ally was unhurried, but quick and obviously familiar with the weapon. If one had to judge, they were abreast, but wouldn't be for long.

Regardless, they were both entirely absorbed.

Glancing toward the ID-SOL Lang couldn't help but start asking questions, "So Lucas, were the hell you been for the last couple of years?"

"Doing odd jobs in Roger Wilco for the bodyguard industry." Lucas replied, watching carefully the movements on the table before him. He winced as he noticed Alex fumbling with the feeding ramp. "Oooh, that one's gonna cost him."

Having finally made the critical movement, Alex slipped out the feeding ramp and quickly shook out the tiny set of catch-and-lever for the magazine release. His hands once again worked quickly as he slip the grip off of the frame and started to remove the inner-components. He was mere seconds away from finishing.

But the STAR's firing mechanism wasn't quite so small or complex as the one that Alex was working with. The stock was solid, and the grip was attached. Ally slapped the last bit of the magazine release down, shifted gears, and began back in reverse.

Just one step behind her, Alex barely tapped the table with the final piece from his own gun before returning it to it's place and pulling the pieces back together one-by-one. The reassembly was the easy part for him, so everything was pretty much falling into place. He quickly turned the gun on its side to re-attach the grip and replace the feeding mechanism just in time to see Ally slide the magazine back in with a beautiful metallic sound, set the gun on the table, and with the same quick sure precision, pull a cigarette from her jacket pocket and light it, smiling smugly.

"You are not done." Alex said, re-inserting the spring into the slide, "There's still a bullet on the floor over there." As if to punctuate his sentence, he snapped the bullet previously in the chamber back into the magazine before he continued repositioning the slide on the frame.

"I am not responsible for the poor condition of the equipment," Ally replied, her bright mood suddenly turning peevish, "Like, really! Who leaves a bullet chambered in a gun they aren't using?"

"It's not as it was when you found it." Alex reloaded the magazine and continued, "However; you've proven your point very well. Welcome aboard."

Not sure whether to be offended, or relieved, or angry, Ally sucked on her cigarette, crossed her arms, and said, "Thanks. Glad to be here." She blew the smoke out her nose. "Jerk."

"Nice work Lass," Chrys said and then she reached for her Styrling which was completely ignored and holstered it. "So know that we are all big happy family, what happens now?" She asked Alex then.

For the first time during the meeting, Alex tendered a smirk amongst them while he chambered the round back into Lang's pistol.

"Now, we go to work."
 
Rennik didn't do or say anything during the entire challenge. He liked some good old fashioned fun, but this wasn't what he was here for.
"Hang on" he said to break the silence that had settled
"I just want to know; is there a set pay in this? or some kind of 'finders keepers' sort of deal. Saving the planet is good 'n all, but my rifle's rounds don't buy themselves"
 
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